Local Plan
What is a Local Plan?
Local Plans, prepared by a local planning authority in consultation with its community, set out a vision and a framework for the future development of an area. Once in place, Local Plans become part of the statutory development plan. The statutory development plan for the area is the starting point for determining local planning applications.
Why do we need to update our current Local Plan?
Our existing Local Plan was adopted by the council in July 2022. The Government requires us to update our local plan to respond to the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF). Key elements of our current Local Plan will be out of date in July 2027 when the plan becomes five years old.
Undertaking a new Local Plan will allow for the Council to properly plan for the higher housing requirement that the government has set us. Failure to have an up to date plan, could result in unplanned development with a lack of associated infrastructure such as roads and green spaces to serve the population.
The Local Plan will be prepared in accordance with the new plan making process that has been introduced by government. It will be produced within a 30 month timeframe. The plan will set out a vision and spatial development strategy for the borough, focusing on site allocations and local spatial policies. Development Management polices will be replaced by the National Development Management Policies (NDMPs).
The Planning Data (England) Regulations 2026 require the council to publish the local plan timetable and local plan datasets in an approved format. These datasets will be updated when changes have been made to the timetable and when milestones have been met. These are provided in CSV file format under the Open Government Licence.
Notice of Commencement
Notice of Commencement (PDF, 408 KB)
Local Plan Timetable
